WEBVTT
REWS.
OFFICIALS PLAN TO TALK TO A
39-YEAR-OLD MECHANICSVILLE MAN,
WHO WAS RESCUED EARLY SUNDAY
MORNING.
MARYLAND NATURAL RESOURCES
POLICE SAY JASON DOWNING WAS
PULLED TO SAFETY AROUND 5:00
A.M., 12 HOURS AFTER THE MAYDAY
CALL.
>> THE CALL CAME FROM THE
POTOMAC RIVER.
VANESSA: POLICE SAY DOWNING WAS
CLINGING TO THE HULL OF THE
OVERTURNED 30-FOOT FISHING BOAT.
HE WAS TAKEN TO SAINT MARY'S
HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT.
>> IN REMARKABLE CONDITION FOR
THE CONDITIONS THAT HE WAS IN
OVERNIGHT.
VANESSA: IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A
FUN DAY OF FISHING FOR DOWNING
AND THREE OTHER MEN, COMPETING
IN THE MARYLAND SALTWATER
SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION
TOURNAMENT.
PRIZES FOR THE BIGGEST CATCH, OR
MOST FISH CAUGHT, CAN REACH
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.
THE FISHERMEN PARKED AT THE
COMBS CREEK MARINA, BEFORE
BOARDING THE BOAT.
ONE OF THE MEN TEXTED HOME
AROUND 4:00 SATURDAY SAYING THEY
WERE HEADED BACK THAT'S WHEN THE
WEATHER TOOK A DANGEROUS TURN.
>> THE WIND CAME UP PRETTY QUICK
LATE YESTERDAY, RIGHT BEFORE
DARK.
THEN IT GOT DARK QUICK.
VANESSA: WITH DOWNING SAFE, THE
SEARCH CONTINUED ON THE WATER
AND IN THE AIR.
A GOOD SAMARITAN FOUND THE BODY
OF WILLIAM EDELEN JUNIOR AROUND
9:30 SUNDAY MORNING.
THE BODY OF GREGORY MOORE, THE
BOAT'S OWNER, WAS FOUND A SHORT
TIME LATER.
A FOURTH FISHERMAN, ROGER
GRISSOM, IS STILL MISSING.
NOTES WERE LEFT ON THE MEN'S
CARS, AT THE MARINA, URGING
GRISSOM TO CONTACT POLICE, IF HE
SOMEHOW MAKES IT BACK ON HIS
OWN.
OFFICIALS SAY ALL OF THE MEN
WERE WEARING LIFEJACKETS.
RESCUE CREWS ARE USING A PING
FROM ONE OF THE MEN'S CELLPHONES
TO TRY TO FIND THE GRISSOM.
THE THIRD DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT

Two men are dead, a third is missing and a fourth is recovering in a Maryland hospital after their fishing boat capsized Saturday evening on the Potomac River, Maryland natural resources officials said Sunday.

All four of the men are from Maryland, authorities said.

Advertisement

The men were on a 30-foot fishing boat off Huggins Point on the Potomac River in St. Mary's County when the boat started taking on water, said Candus Thomson, a public information officer for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Around 8 p.m. Saturday, three of the men's wives reported that their husbands were overdue. This came about three hours after a mayday call.

"The call came from the Potomac River, roughly in the area of buoy number 12," Capt. Brian Rathgeb with Maryland Natural Resources Police said.

Authorities began a search later Saturday evening.

One of the men, Jason Downing, 39, was found clinging to the bow of the capsized boat around 5 a.m. Sunday. He was transported to Medstar St. Mary's Hospital for treatment. His condition is unknown.

"(Downing was) in remarkable, remarkable condition for the conditions he was in overnight," Rathgeb said.

The bodies of two other men, ages 55 and 48, were recovered early Sunday morning.

It's not clear why the boat capsized. Authorities said conditions on the river were windy with three-foot waves Saturday night.

The men were competing in the Maryland Saltwater Sportsfishing Association tournament. Prizes for the biggest catch or the most fish caught can reach thousands of dollars.

The fishermen parked at Combs Creek Marina before boarding their boat. One of the men texted home around 4 p.m. Saturday that they were heading back from fishing. That is when the weather took a dangerous turn.

"The winds came up pretty quick late yesterday right before dark and then it got dark quick," resident Rick Eierman said.

With Downing safe, the search continued in the water and in the air for the pother victims.

A good Samaritan found the body of William Edelen Jr. around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The body of Gregry Moore, the boat's owner was found a short time later. A fourth fisherman, Roger Grissom, is still missing.

Notes were left on the men's cars at the marina, urging Grissom to contact police if he somehow makes it back on their own.

Officials said all of the men were wearing life jackets. Rescue crews are using a ping from one of the men's cellphones to try and find Grissom.